Had 4 hrs spare before the birthday party so gathered a few friends and we headed off to Toolangi SF in Victoria for a pre-Xmas check of the cars.
Lead the party up to little
Boggy creek where there is a submerged tree angled across the track followed by a short steep uphill section which always sorts the cars out.
First 1 or 2 usually make it but then the uphill section gets covered in
water and thats it.
Well, I've never seen the track so dry and the sub-merged log was exposed 6 inches above the pathetic looking little trickle of
water once called a
creek.
Ok , so everyone got thru with smug looks on there faces so we headed up towards long gully and a little side track short-cut which has been known to swallow cars.
There's a long way round and I usually avoid this hole without loss of image but in a carefully planned manoverve I managed to survey the big central mudhole and asess that this time I had a fair chance without being left high but not dry.
Actually the track and the bog hole looked fairly mean but its was important not to look to worried otherwise some might not follow.
Engaged all the Patrols lockers with stopping and drove smoothly into the
water covered sloppy mud hole creating an almost perfect bow wave which only breached the bonnet on one side.
About 30 meters in just coming up on the exit I felt the front diff bite the center ridge lifting a wheel but we then fluked a near perfect back off on the throttle which prevented wheel spin and sort of had the car gliding over the centre hump in the bog hole helped by a reflected wave of
water which gently helped the car emerge gracefully out of the mire looking as cool as you could.
Feeling as smug as you could I positioned the car, mimimized the size of the hole over the radio and encouraged the gang.
The early model Range rover came in first, its good articulation pushing it further than I thought it get but even with mud flying everywhere it was just to much for it.
The Navara driver, who shall remain nameless kept very quiet and out of the way.
The landcruiser driver said he could get through, but he wouldn't have enough time before Xmas to get all the mud out from his suspect rear drum brakes and re-do his wheel bearings.
The new model Range Rover driver also said he could get thru but he hadn't had time to remove his lower front spoiler and didn't want to break it.
That left just another Patrol driver, and so he charged in.
Whoops- this is deep, he backed off and charged again, but no lockers made it hard going and so he was forced to back off again with the car now pretty throughly covered in mud.
Now diesel Patrol driver's don't give up easily , espically when it was a petrol powered car sitting on the other side.
With a supreme effort he went in, the ruts chucking the car side to side and with mud flicking off the tyres thru the wound down windows he crossed and got up onto the exit ramp grinding a path with the front diff.
He really deserved to make it, but no front locker left a wheel high but not dry and he just to admit defeat. Despite
water entering the front and rear of the car he persisted and at least got out backwards without suffering the indignity of needing a snatch.
The Patrols effort had removed a little hump which had stopped the earlier range rover who quickly took advantage and just managed to get thru and join our Patrol on the far bank.
The two of us on the far side laid it on pretty heavily and then we all turned for home admist much carry on.
On the way back we took in the
well known Rocky track, which despite drizzle all day in
melbourne had remained dry allowing all the cars to clambour up, and the other drivers to re-gain some
dignity.
An hour later, fairly close to the exact time I actually turned 60, we arrived home where the girls had done a great job setting up the party.
They had even saved a 100 litres of
water from the washing machine to get at least one layer of mud off the cars.
But you could see the look in their eyes which just said, when do little boys grow up !
Merry Christmas
Robin Miller